Protect Your Most Precious Cargo

Car seat tips from a child passenger safety expert

By Rivian

September 18^th, 2024

Story by Alan Hoffman, Rivian's Chief Policy Officer

Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week reminds us to help protect our most precious cargo: our kids.

To support families nationwide, we’ve teamed up with certified child passenger safety technician, Michelle Pratt of Safe in the Seat, to provide simple and effective car seat safety tips.

Second-generation R1 vehicles has a newly designed, incredibly clear emergency lightbar that helps direct traffic around the vehicle in hazardous situations

A crash structure that seeks to provide best-in-class protection in an accident

Adaptive Drive Beam Headlights on second-generation R1 vehicles will enhance safety by adjusting the beam pattern to reduce glare for oncoming drivers without compromising driver lighting

Every Rivian comes standard with Driver+, which assists with steering, braking, speed control, reversing, parking and towing

The 360-degree bird’s-eye camera view always comes in handy in tough parking situations and to look out for pedestrians and objects in your path

Blind Spot Monitoring reduce the likelihood of crash and injury

Designed with safety in mind.

For Rivian, safety starts from the very first product sketch. In the development of our consumer and commercial vehicles, we think carefully about the wellbeing of drivers and passengers and are constantly seeking new improvements to help keep them safe. Our approach to safety in engineering and technology makes our vehicles among the safest on the road as rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). And thanks to over-the-air software updates, Rivian vehicles get more safety-focused features over time.

Survey respondents selected cost (61%) and safety (53%) as the top two vehicle attributes when considering a purchase or lease.

Helping protect loved ones today and tomorrow.

As this week is Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, Rivian commissioned a study with Harris poll to better understand car seat safety knowledge what vehicle attributes matter most to parents and the public. The results revealed that while people are passionate about safety, busy parents find themselves cutting corners in the daily grind. In fact, Parents with children age of 12 under selected safety as the top vehicle attribute (58%) when considering a purchase or lease. Yet sixteen percent of parents admitted they did not always use a car seat when they should have while transporting their youngest children in a car. And for Gen Z and younger Millennial parents (aged 18-34), this figure rose to 21 percent. To help close this awareness gap, we’ve teamed up with certified child passenger safety technician, Michelle Pratt of Safe in the Seat to share crucial advice to help keep kids safe while on the road.

Five fast tips for proper car seat usage, although parents should always refer to their specific manual for official guidance.

Always remove a puffy winter coat before putting the child in their car seat.
Always ensure a newborn's car seat is at a proper recline angle and they are tightly and properly harnessed. This is critical to keep a baby safe in a crash and breathing easy.
When a child is rear-facing, make sure their harness straps are at or just below the shoulders. When forward-facing harness straps should be at or just above their shoulders.
Keep the chest clip at armpit level.
The car seat should only be turned from rear-facing to forward-facing once the child maxes out the height limit, weight limit or head height limit of their car seat (whichever comes first).

Designed to handle adventure for the whole family

As a seven-passenger SUV, the R1S can accommodate large families and up to five car seats – fitting three across the second row. Flexing from weekend off-roading to toting the team for soccer carpool duty – with dirty cleats in the front trunk – these vehicles go the distance (Gen 2 goes up to 420 miles). Our 2024 R1S earned the coveted TOP SAFETY PICK award from IIHS, the only American EV in the Large SUV category to do so (as of September 2024). This rating has an impact on consumer confidence and choice. In our recent study, Parents with kids aged 12 and under shared that knowing EVs are among the highest safety-rated vehicles in their segments as measured by the IIHS would have an impact (85%) on their decision to purchase or lease an EV.

Rivian’s award-winning EVs are reliable, make driving easier and are built to keep you comfortable, confident and content. Whether you’re pulling up to the carpool line, carting groceries, or making memories with loved ones in Yosemite National Park, Rivian is there to deliver a reliable travel experience for your next adventure.